The Museum of Transport and Technology displays New Zealand's most complete collection of civil and military aircraft, representing over a century of aviation history.

Sunday

AB Flygplan Grunau Baby IIB-2

"The German Grunau Baby, designed by Edmund Schneider (1901-1968), is without any doubt the most produced sailplane in the world. Totally more than 6000 have been manufactured and it has been built under license in almost twenty countries. The first variant took to the air in 1931. The Grunau Baby fulfilled the demands for a sailplane which could be used both for training as well as more advanced flying. It went trough several modifications before the most common configuration - the IIB - was introduced.

The single-seat Grunau Baby IIB was constructed of wood and fabric and had a skid landing gear. It had a rectangular fuselage which was reinforced with double layers of diagonal plywood. The cockpit was of open type, but could be fitted with a hood. The wings were equipped with dive-brake type spoilers.

The high-winged, strutted sailplane was stable and easy to fly. It had an effective rudder action and long span ailerons made good performance possible.

Grunau was an important soaring center in pre-war Germany - second largest after Wasserkuppe. The glider pilot Edmund Schneider married a girl from Grunau and settled down in the small village. In 1928, he founded his own company - Edmund Schneider Segelflugzeugbau Grunau (ESG). As gliding was an expensive activity, Schneider developed his successful Grunau Baby as a compromise between price and performance. At the end of the WWII, the Schneider family moved to Stuttgart. Schneider still improved his “Baby”. In 1951, the Grunau Baby III was introduced and proved itself also to be a successful design. "

Photos- aircraft on display in the main hangar (Richard Wesley)- mounted on the wall in the main hangar (Richard Wesley)